Jan. 3-Jan. 8, 2012

Today in the News Media

Today in the News Media is a synopsis of some of the most prominent coverage of OSU people and programs. Inclusion of any item constitutes neither an endorsement nor a critique, but rather is intended only to make the OSU community aware of significant items in the media.

Researchers at OHSU and Oregon State University enlisted 104 of the women and men who have volunteered for the Oregon Brain Aging Study that began in 1989. Their average age was 87. All of them completed a battery of tests of memory and thinking skills, and 42 volunteers also had MRI scans to measure their brain volume. (see also BBC, NPR, AFP)

“To have multiple effects, you can’t just have one hour a day for a few weeks and that’s it. It’s just like learning Math or reading — you have to keep going over multiple years,” said Brian Flay, from Oregon State University in Corvallis, whose research was included in the analysis. (see also The Atlantic, UPI, Medical Daily)

Study author William Ripple from Oregon State University said tree stands are expanding in areas where for decades dense elk populations prevented new growth. (see also Spokesman Tribune, OPB, Idaho Press Tribune)

The center, currently in its sixth year, is based at the Oregon Health & Science University, with a wide range of academic and non-academic partners, including Oregon State University, the University of Washington, Portland State University, and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies.

Scott Heppell, a fish biologist at Oregon State University notes, “The data shows a skew toward males, and the modeling shows that if this skew is real, then the population is in more trouble.” (see also Oregon Herald)

When the State Agricultural College moved from a wooden structure in downtown Corvallis to the newly constructed building now known as Benton Hall in 1889, the town’s population was around 1,500. Eighty-five enrolled in the institution’s college-level classes, along with an additional 67 in high school courses offered at the time.

“You can find its cousins in caves, on your skin, at the bottom of the ocean and just about anywhere,” said study co-author Amy Smith of Oregon State University. “What is different, in this case, is its unique qualities that allow it to grow in Mars-like conditions.” (see also Live Science, MSNBC, International Business Times,)

“We expected to see some of these changes after multiple generations,” said Mark Christie, an Oregon State University post-doctoral research associate and lead author of the study. “To see these changes happen in a single generation was amazing. Evolutionary change doesn’t always take thousands of years.”

I can do it all, eat better, lose weight, and start exercising. This resolution may sound good, but it “is a high bar for most people to achieve,” says Melinda M. Manore, PhD, RD, professor of nutrition and exercise sciences at Oregon State University. If your goals are too lofty, you’ll have trouble accomplishing them, and you’re likely to give up, she says.

The International Space Station transmitted images taken by the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean of Earth’s coastal areas to OSU, which then administered the information in an online clearinghouse to make available to scientists around the world. Details of the project were published in American Geophysical Union.

At OSU, an informal panel of officials from student affairs and other parts of campus, led by vice provost of student affairs Larry Roper, met to review OSU’s procedures and policies in that kind of scenario.

Voodoo Vintners by Katherine Cole (Oregon State University Press) [Nonfiction] Oregonian wine writer Katherine Cole has spent some time with Oregon’s biodynamic wine growers, who go beyond organic farming to time plantings to the phases of the moon. This well-researched book on a unique and almost spiritual style of farming is engaging and eye-opening. Pairs well with Oregon Pinots.

Though he’s known as a barley breeder, Oregon State University’s Pat Hayes also planted the wild rice seed here. He researched wild rice domestication for his doctorate in Minnesota. Upon moving to Corvallis in 1987, Hayes stocked his backyard pond with wild rice. It grew — much to the delight of the raccoons.

Captain Pete Brawn suffered 2 broken arms, a broken leg and spent 4 hours drifting in the Pacific Ocean after his F/A-18 Hornet jet went down off the coast of San Diego, Calif. last August. Brawn joined the Marines after graduating from Oregon State University. He’s been a pilot for 5 years.

Waibel noted that his grads who go on to the forestry program at Oregon State University have almost 100 percent placement in living-wage jobs, and that some of his talented Sabin-Schellenberg students find apprenticeships and even paid gigs right out of high school.

“I started helping dish ice cream at the Oregon Dairy Women’s booth at the state fair when I was 4 years old,” said the Linn-Benton Community College/Oregon State University elementary education major.

“Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies” by David G. James and David Nunnallee (Oregon State University Press, $35). A comprehensive, copiously illustrated guide to “virtually all” the 158 butterfly species of southern British Columbia, Washington, northern Idaho and northern Oregon.

Corvallis firefighters say smoke from a commercial dryer fire has prompted the closure of the Dixon Recreation Center on the Oregon State University campus. (see also Statesman Journal)

Thursday

NEW! Candidate forum: The Risk Management Office (RMO) invites the campus community to attend a campus forum/presentation with the first of four candidates for the position of Chief Risk Officer on Thursday, Jan. 5 from 9 to 9:45 a.m., in Memorial Union LaRaza Room 208. The Chief Risk Officer position is vital to the OSU community and interacts with all organizations on campus. The passing of Senate Bill 242 and its impact to the RMO and OSU will be realized in 2012 making the hiring of this position important.

NEW! Climate change pub talk: John Bolte, OSU Department Head for Biological and Ecological Engineering, will speak on “The Willamette River in a Changing Climate,” at Science Pub Corvallis Jan. 9. The free event at Old World Deli, 341 S.W. Second St. goes from 6 to 8 p.m.

OSUsed Store closures: The OSUsed Store is closed to the public – meaning no personal purchases may be made – until our Welcome Back Sale on Jan. 11. We remain open to OSU departments on Mondays through Fridays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., except on Jan. 2. Located at 644 SW 13th St. More information: 737-7347 or http://surplus.oregonstate.edu.

Weight Watchers: The Weight Watchers Open House meetings will be held on Jan. 10 at 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at Student Health Services room 322. The next 13-week session begins Jan. 17. Complete a Health Risk Assessment on the PEBB website. If you are a PEBB subscriber the cost of the meetings will be fully subsidized. Next, call the WW/Pebb number 866-454-2144 and ask for a confirmation code. Present that confirmation code at the first meeting. For more information, call 541-737-3106.

Food Drive Kick-off Meeting: Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. We will be meet at the home of OSU’s Emergency Food Pantry – International Forum Room, southwest corner of Snell Hall/MU East. We would like start updating our coordinator list. Visit the food drive website to view last year’s list. We will be updating this list for the 2012 drive. Notify Kate Sanders (541-737-6522, kate.sanders@oregonstate.edu) if you have any updates or additions.

News for Employees

NEW! Significant Policy Changes Affecting Travel: Several broad-reaching fiscal policies (http://oregonstate.edu/fa/manuals/fis) have been updated which can affect individuals who travel or purchase on behalf of OSU as part of their work. These changes 1) limit personal reimbursements to $100 or less; 2) establish a maximum 60 day submittal period to the appropriate Business Center (FIS 407); establish mandatory procedures regarding the use of non-contracted vendors for airfare travel (failure to follow the policy could result in loss of a future reimbursement (FIS 411-01)). If these changes affect your OSU business, be sure to review the complete policy as noted in brackets.

NEW! Want to teach an Honors Course?: This is the annual University Honors College Call for Coursework for the 2012-2013 academic year. The UHC seeks course proposals from OSU tenure/tenure-track, senior instructor, and emeritus faculty members. Any course in the OSU General Catalog is eligible to be offered as an Honors course; or you can propose something new. Submit a proposal on-line at http://oregonstate.edu/dept/honors/current/courses/proposals or email Toni.Doolen@oregonstate.edu for further information. Deadline for proposal submission is Jan. 27.

Reduce Electronic Waste: Is this the season for a new computer? Wondering what to do with your old machine? Well, don’t throw it out — recycle it! The December tech tip from Greening IT, an initiative of Information Services, also includes information on maximizing your computer’s lifespan and reducing resource consumption.

Women in Higher Ed conference: The President’s Commission on the Status of Women [PCOSW] encourages OSU faculty, staff and students to attend this year’s annual conference of Oregon Women in Higher Education, Jan. 27 at Portland State University. Registration deadline Jan. 13. This year’s topic is Leading Change: Personal Perspectives & Collective Growth See http://www.owhenet.jigsy.com/annual-conference

OSU: There’s an app for that: OSU’s official iPhone app is now public available in the iTunes store. Find office addresses, staff, faculty and student contact info, navigate the campus and get the latest news and announcements while you’re on the go.

Professional training: Looking for a training course or refresher to start your new year off right? Visit website http://oregonstate.edu/training to view and register online for winter term courses posted in the “Professional and Organizational Effectiveness” category. These courses are sponsored by Training and Organizational Effectiveness, are FREE to OSU employees, and include Principles of Moving from Good to Great, Stretch Goals: Taking Your Performance to the Next Level, Road Trip: The Art of Managing Expectations, Dejunking Your Life, and Running Effective Meetings.

NSF – Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE): The Research Office Incentive Programs is requesting letters of intent for the NSF – EESE program. The program funds research and educational projects that improve ethics education in all fields of science and engineering that NSF supports. Guidelines for letters of intent: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/eese.html. Submission deadline to the Research Office: Jan. 16. Information: Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu

Business suit donations needed: Lightly used professional business attire is being sought to assist OSU students for the Annual Career Wardrobe Makeover event scheduled for Feb. 9 in the OSU MU Ballroom. For more information or to request pick up contact Wanda Crannell, 737-2999. Current campus drop off locations are 8 Kerr Administration – Career Services and 137 Strand Agriculture Hall, and beginning Jan. 1 the downtown OSU BEAVER Store in Portland 538 SW 6th Ave.

Classified evaluation: Effective Jan. 1, all classified non-information technology performance evaluations will be completed through EvalS. EvalS is an electronically-driven performance evaluation system designed to assist supervisors and employees to complete their annual goal-setting and appraisal tasks. Register soon for the “Intro to Classified (Non-IT) EvalS for Employees and Supervisors” training at Website http://oregonstate.edu/training/course_view.php?crse_id=309.

Traffic and maintenance

Campus wide: Facilities Services in collaboration with the Office of Disability Access Services and Network Services, will survey wireless access points to create a virtual map of campus building. Facilities Services employees will be accessing various rooms throughout the buildings to calibrate the virtual maps with the access points. For information contact Lisa Nemes at 541-737-6269 or Lisa.Nemes@oregonstate.edu.

Richardson Hall: Due to necessary repairs, the building water system in Richardson Hall will be temporarily shut down. This will affect all rooms on all floors throughout the building. This shutdown is necessary to test and repair the back flow device for the main water supply to Richardson Hall. The shutdown will begin at 8 a.m. Jan. 3 and should end by noon.

Peavy Hall: Due to necessary repairs, the building water system in Peavy Hall will be temporarily shut down. This will affect all rooms on all floors throughout the building. This shutdown is necessary to test and repair the back flow device for the main water supply to Peavy Hall. The shutdown will begin at 10 a.m. Jan. 3 and should end by 3 p.m.

Bexell Hall: Due to necessary repairs, the building water system in Bexell Hall will be temporarily shut down. This will affect all rooms on all floors throughout the building. This shutdown is necessary to test and repair the back flow device for the main water supply to Bexell Hall. The shutdown will begin at 8 a.m. Jan. 4 and should end by 3 p.m.

Callahan Hall: Due to parking lot maintenance, the parking lot east of 15th Street and south of Callahan Hall will be temporarily closed. The shutdown will begin at 6 a.m. Jan. 3 and should end by 4:30 p.m.

Richardson Hall: Due to parking lot maintenance, the parking lot south of Richardson Hall will be temporarily closed. The shutdown will begin at 6 a.m. Jan. 5 and should end by 4:30 p.m.

Fairbanks Annex: Due to a scheduled ceiling project, Fairbanks Annex will be temporarily closed. This closure is necessary for the safety of the OSU community while contractors remove the ceiling and make necessary repairs. The shutdown should end by 5:30 p.m., Jan. 6.

Jobs

INTO Oregon State University is seeking a dynamic team member to oversee all Student Services Trips and Activities within the INTO OSU center to enhance our international student’s university experience. $27,040 per yr., plus full benefit package. For further information or to apply, contact rhonda.maillard@oregonstate.edu. Closes Jan. 3.

Weather

Corvallis: Here’s hoping you had a great New Year’s holiday, surrounded by family and friends. As we sail into the final stretch of winter break, we’ll see cloudy skies and a little rain midweek, with lows in the 30s-40s and highs in the 40s-50s. The weekend looks to be cloudy but dry so far.